Untitled, Manhattan c. 1925

Here's an untitled drawing of Manhattan made with graphite on paper by John Marin. Look at this crazy cluster of lines! Thin, spidery, and frenetic, as if the city itself is about to explode with energy! It’s like Marin grabbed his pencil and just went for it, trying to capture the feeling of the city, you know? I imagine him standing on a street corner, maybe a little overwhelmed but also totally jazzed by the chaos around him. The buildings become these jumbled, angular shapes, all tilting and pushing against each other. He’s not trying to give us a photograph, but something more like the pulse of Manhattan itself! Marin's marks feel urgent, they almost vibrate, and make me think about other artists who tried to capture that feeling, like the Futurists in Italy. He's part of this ongoing conversation about how we see and feel the modern world.